Systems and methods for operating drones in response to an incident

ABSTRACT

A response system may be provided. The response system may include a security system and an autonomous drone. The security system includes a security sensor and a controller. The drone includes a processor, a memory in communication with the processor, and a drone sensor. The processor may be programmed to link the drone to the controller, build a virtual navigation map of the coverage area based, at least in part, upon initial sensor data stored by the drone, determine that the coverage area is unoccupied, deploy the drone from a docking station, control movement of the drone within the coverage area based upon the virtual navigation map, collect drone sensor data of the coverage area using the drone sensor, and/or analyze the collected drone sensor data to identify an abnormal condition within the coverage area, the abnormal condition including at least one of damage or theft occurring within the coverage area.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 15/236,192,filed on Aug. 12, 2016, and U.S. Ser. No. 15/236,105, filed on Aug. 12,2016, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 62/298,614, filed Feb. 23, 2016, U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/305,293, filed Mar. 8, 2016, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/317,982, filed Apr. 4, 2016, the contents ofeach are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entirety and for allpurposes, herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to operating response drones for datagathering and, more particularly, to network-based systems and methodsfor operating response drones to gather data and respond to incidents ata specific property.

BACKGROUND

Damage and/or burglary may occur to properties (e.g., buildings andland) due to weather, people, animals, and/or internal components, suchas electrical wiring. When an owner and other parties associated withthe property are present, at least some of the damage or theft may beidentified and/or mitigated. For example, the owner may identify a firewithin his or her home, and quickly extinguish the fire resulting inless damage as compared to a situation where the owner was not presentwithin the home at the time of the fire. In another example, the ownermay detect a burglary in progress and call law enforcement to apprehendthe burglar. However, if the owner and/or other parties are not presentor monitoring the property at the time of the incident, damage and/or atheft may occur without a timely responsive action to mitigate thedamage or theft. In some cases, such as a fire, the damage caused to theproperty may increase due to a delay in performing responsive actions.Insurance costs associated with the property to cover the damage and/ortheft may also increase due to no one being present at the location orthe time of the incident (i.e., an event resulting in damage or theft ofa property). In addition, the cause or origin of the damage or theft maynot be easily identified after the damage or theft has been leftunmitigated.

At least some known security systems may be installed at properties tomonitor for damage and/or theft, and to alert one or more parties suchas the owner of the property, law enforcement, a fire service provider,and/or a medical service provider to respond to the damage or theft.These security systems may include stationary sensors (e.g., cameras)that monitor portions of the property, such as doors and windows, andmay be configured to identify only one form of damage or theft, such as(but not limited to) fire damage, flooding damage, and/or theft damage.Installing these known security systems to monitor most if not all ofthe property for more than one type may be costly for at least someowners.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present embodiments may relate to response systems for detecting andresponding to incidents within a coverage area including one or moreproperties (e.g., buildings and land). The coverage area may include oneor more zones. The response systems may include a drone positioned nearor within the coverage area, a navigation system, a security system, auser computing device, an insurance computing device, and/or a controlcenter. The drone may detect a triggering activity and at least one zoneassociated with the triggering activity. The triggering activity mayinclude a deployment request from the security system and/or the usercomputing device, expiration of a predetermined period of time, and/orsensor data collected by the security system or a sensor of the drone.The drone may be configured to determine a navigation path to the zonebased upon stored information (e.g., a map of the coverage area) andnavigation data received from the navigation system. The drone maydeploy from the control center and travel to the zone based upon thenavigation path. The drone may update the navigation path to avoidobstacles blocking the navigation path. Once the drone arrives at thezone, the drone may collect sensor data using the sensor and transmitthe collected sensor data to the user computing device for review. Theuser computing device may control the drone to provide specific sensordata or manually navigate the drone. If an incident causing potentialdamage and/or theft to the property is detected based upon the sensordata, the user computing device may activate a response device of thedrone (e.g., a fire extinguisher or alarm) to respond to the incident.The user computing device may further notify an emergency serviceprovider. In at least some embodiments, the drone may transmit thesensor data to an insurance computing device that determines whether ornot to initiate an insurance activity, such as generating an insuranceclaim based upon the sensor data. The insurance computing device mayautomatically initiate the insurance activity based upon thedetermination.

In one aspect, a response system may be provided. The response systemmay include a security system and an autonomous drone. The securitysystem includes a security sensor and a controller. The drone includes aprocessor, a memory in communication with the processor, and a dronesensor. The processor may be programmed to link the drone to thecontroller, build a virtual navigation map of the coverage area based,at least in part, upon initial sensor data stored by the drone,determine that the coverage area is unoccupied, deploy the drone from adocking station, control movement of the drone within the coverage areabased upon the virtual navigation map, collect drone sensor data of thecoverage area using the drone sensor, and/or analyze the collected dronesensor data to identify an abnormal condition within the coverage area,the abnormal condition including at least one of damage or theftoccurring within the coverage area. The response system may includeaddition, fewer, or alternative components and/or functions, includingthose described elsewhere herein.

In a further aspect, a computer-implemented method for analyzing sensordata of a coverage area using a response system may be provided. Theresponse system may include an autonomous drone and a security systemincluding a controller. The method includes linking the drone to thecontroller, building a virtual navigation map of the coverage areabased, at least in part, upon initial sensor data stored by the drone,determining that the coverage area is unoccupied, deploying the dronefrom a docking station, navigating, by the drone, through the coveragearea based upon the virtual navigation map, collecting, by the drone,drone sensor data of the coverage area using a drone sensor, and/oranalyzing the collected drone sensor data to identify an abnormalcondition within the coverage area, the abnormal condition including atleast one of damage or theft occurring within the coverage area. Themethod may include additional, fewer, or alternative steps, includingthose described elsewhere herein, and may be implemented via one or moreautonomous drones and/or local or remote processors, sensors, and/ortransceivers.

Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description of the preferred embodiments which have beenshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thepresent embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments,and their details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The Figures described below depict various aspects of the systems andmethods disclosed therein. It should be understood that each Figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed systemsand methods, and that each of the Figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingFigures, in which features depicted in multiple Figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals.

There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presentlydiscussed, it being understood, however, that the present embodimentsare not limited to the precise arrangements and are instrumentalitiesshown, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary response system todetect and/or respond to incidents that may cause damage and/or theft toa property.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of an exemplary neighborhood that may bemonitored by the system shown in FIG. 1 to detect and respond toincidents in the neighborhood.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross section side view of an exemplary buildingthat may be monitored by the system shown in FIG. 1 to detect andrespond to incidents in the building.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computing device thatmay be used in the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary host computing devicethat may be used in the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an exemplary computer-implemented method fordetecting and responding to incidents in a coverage area including oneor more properties that may be used by the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary computer system involving an autonomous drone,charging station, and smart home controller.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary computer-implemented method of using autonomousdrones to collect sensor data for insurance-related purposes that may beimplemented by the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary computer-implemented method of employingautonomous drones to collect sensor data, analyze the sensor data todetect abnormal conditions, and, in response, direct mitigating actionsthat may be implemented by the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary computer-implemented method of integrating anautonomous drone into a home monitoring/security system, and thenemploying the autonomous drone to monitor the home by collecting sensordata, analyzing the sensor data to detect abnormal conditions, anddirecting mitigating actions that may be implemented by the system inFIG. 1.

The Figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesof the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, systems and methodsfor detecting and responding to incidents within a coverage areaincluding one or more properties using drones. As used herein,“property” may refer to a building (e.g., a home or commercial building)or piece of land, and “incident” may refer to an event occurring to theproperty that may lead to potential damage and/or theft (e.g., a fire ora burglary). Property may also refer to a group of properties, such as aneighborhood. The coverage area may include an interior and/or exteriorof one or more properties. A drone may be configured to monitor acoverage area to detect incidents occurring within and/or approximate tothe coverage area and respond to these incidents.

As used herein, a drone may be an unmanned vehicle configured to travelautonomously, semi-autonomously, and/or manually based upon datacollected by the drone and/or control signals received from othercomputing devices. The drone may include one or more sensors (e.g., acamera, a motion detector, a thermal camera, a smoke alarm, etc.) tocollect sensor data from the coverage area. The drone may be docked at acontrol center positioned within or near the coverage area while not inuse. The control center may include a computing device in communicationwith the drone that is configured to perform or cause the drone toperform the functions described herein. In at least some embodiments,the control center may be configured to charge the drone.

The drone (also referred to herein as a “response drone”) and/or thecontrol center may be configured to detect a triggering activity. Thetriggering activity may cause the drone to deploy (such as autonomouslyor automatically deploy) based upon information associated with thetriggering activity. The triggering activity may include, but is notlimited to, a deployment request, expiration of a predetermined timeperiod, and/or collected sensor data. The deployment request may bereceived from a user computing device associated with an owner or otherparty of the property. The deployment request may also be received froma security system associated with the coverage area if the securitysystem detects sensor data that may indicate a potential incident withinthe coverage area. In the exemplary embodiment, the drone and/or thecontrol center may be further configured to identify one or more zonesof the coverage area associated with the triggering activity. As usedherein, a “zone” refers to a sub-region of a coverage area. For example,a zone may be a room or floor within a house. In another example, a zonemay be a house within a neighborhood. The drone may store a map of zoneswithin the coverage area in a memory associated with the drone.

Based upon the zone associated with the triggering activity, the dronemay determine a navigation path to the detected zone. In at least someembodiments, the drone may retrieve the map of zones from the memory todetermine the navigation path. The map may include information such aspotential obstacles, points of entry to the zone, and/or names for eachzone. In some embodiments, the navigation path may be a predefined pathstored in the memory with the map.

The drone may also be in communication with a navigation system thattransmits navigation data to the drone. For example, the drone may by incommunication with a Global Positioning System (GPS) or a GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS). In some embodiments, the navigationsystem may be configured to provide navigation data for the interior ofa property. For example, the navigation system may include a pluralityof sensors installed within the property that are communicativelycoupled to the drone to provide the navigation data, such as viawireless communication or data transmission over one or more indirect ordirect radio frequency links.

Once the navigation path is determined, the response drone may bedeployed from the control center and may follow the navigation pathtowards the zone. In the exemplary embodiment, the drone may include oneor more object detectors to detect obstacles blocking the navigationpath. To follow the navigation path and avoid the detected obstacles,the drone may receive the navigation data and adjust the movement of thedrone based upon the detected obstacles and the navigation data. In someembodiments, the drone may update the navigation path based upon thedetected obstacles and the navigation data before adjusting the movementof the drone.

Once the response drone reaches the zone associated with the triggeringactivity, the drone collects sensor data from the zone. In someembodiments, the drone may collect initial sensor data and analyze theinitial sensor data to detect any potential points-of-interest (POIs) inthe zone. More specifically, the drone may analyze the initial sensordata to detect any potential incidents, damage, and/or theft. Forexample, if the drone includes a thermal camera, the drone may detect apotential fire. In another example, the drone may store image data ofthe zone and may compare an image of the initial sensor data to thestored image to determine if any items have been potentially stolen. Thedrone may tag the POIs within the collected sensor to enable othercomputing devices such as the user computing device to detect the POIs.

The drone may transmit at least a portion of the collected sensor datato the user computing device associated with an owner or other party ofa property within the coverage area. The owner may view of the sensordata, such as image data, video data, thermal data, radar data, infrareddata, audio data, and the like, at the user computing device to monitorthe property. The user computing device may be configured to control thedrone to enable the owner to navigate the drone through the coveragearea and collect the sensor data.

The user computing device may also be configured to set automatedparameters for the drone. For example, the user computing device may seta predetermined period of time between automatic deployments of thedrone. The user computing device may also be in communication with thesecurity system. In one example, if the owner notices that a door isunlocked from image data received with the sensor data, the usercomputing device may cause the security system to lock the door. Theuser computing device may be in communication with other integratedcomputing devices within the coverage area to make changes based uponthe sensor data.

If the owner determines that damage or theft has occurred within thecoverage area based upon the sensor data, the user computing device maybe configured to provide the owner with an option to notify an emergencyservice provider or another party of the damage or theft. In someembodiments, the drone, the user computing device, and/or the securitysystem may automatically determine to notify the emergency serviceprovider based upon the sensor data. In the exemplary embodiment, theuser computing device may transmit the sensor data to the emergencyservice provider. In other embodiments, the drone or the security systemmay transmit the sensor data to the emergency service provider. Thedrone may store the sensor data for further analysis.

The owner and/or the emergency service provider may respondappropriately to the incident. For example, the emergency serviceprovider may send first responders to the property if a fire isdetected. In at least some embodiments, the response drone may includeone or more response devices to prevent, mitigate, or otherwise reducedamage or theft. The response device may include, but is not limited, aflashlight, a speaker, a fire extinguisher, a water hose, and/or analarm. In one example, if a fire is detected, the response drone mayactivate an integrated fire extinguisher to put out the fire. In anotherexample, if a potential burglary is detected, an integrated alarm of theresponse drone is activated to drive away the potential thief. The usercomputing device may be configured to control the response drone toactivate the response device. In some embodiments, the response dronemay automatically activate the response device.

In the exemplary embodiment, the drone and/or the user computing devicemay be in communication with one or more insurance computing devices,such as via wireless communication or data transmission over one or moreradio frequency links. Each insurance computing device may be associatedwith an insurance provider. At least one insurance provider isassociated with an insurance policy for a property within the coveragearea. The drone and/or the user computing device may transmit thecollected sensor data the insurance computing device. The insurancecomputing device may be configured to analyze the sensor data todetermine whether or not to initiate an insurance activity. Theinsurance activity may include, but is not limited to, generating aninsurance claim, adjusting an insurance policy, providing a discount,generating an insurance quote, generating an insurance-relatedrecommendation, and/or providing an insurance-related reward.

At least one of the technical problems addressed by this system mayinclude: (i) long response times to damage and/or theft occurring at aproperty; (ii) limited coverage of the property to identify damage ortheft using stationary or fixed sensors; (iii) limited control for anowner of the property to automate and customize at least some knownsecurity systems; (iv) limited information collected by at least someknown security systems may be sent to the owner; and (v) increasedinsurance costs associated with damage and/or theft that may bemitigated with a timely responsive action.

A technical effect of the systems and processes described herein may beachieved by performing at least one of the following steps: (i)detecting, by a response drone, a triggering activity associated with afirst zone of a plurality of zones within a coverage area; (ii)determining a navigation path to the first zone; (iii) traveling, by thedrone, to the first zone based upon the determined navigation path; (iv)collecting, by the drone, sensor data using a sensor at the first zone;and (v) transmitting the collected sensor data to a user computingdevice associated with the coverage area for review.

The technical effect achieved by this system may be at least one of: (i)reduced response times to damage and/or theft occurring at a property;(ii) increased coverage of the property to identify damage or theftusing mobile drones; (iii) increased control for an owner of theproperty to automate and customize at least some known security systems;(iv) increased information collected by the drone may be sent to theowner for review; and (v) reduced insurance costs associated with damageand/or theft that may be mitigated with a timely responsive action.

Exemplary Response System

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary response system 100 for detecting andresponding to incidents within a coverage area. In the exemplaryembodiment, system 100 may include a response drone 110, a navigationsystem 112, a security system 114, a user computing device 116, and/oran insurance computing device 118. In other embodiments, system 100 mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternative components, including thosedescribed elsewhere herein.

In the exemplary embodiment, response drone 110 may be positioned nearor within coverage area 10. Coverage area 10 may be an area includingone or more properties. The properties may include, but are not limitedto, buildings, land, and/or objects located within the buildings or onthe land. In the exemplary embodiment, each property may be associatedwith an owner or an owning party and an insurance policy. Coverage area10 may be, for example, a building, a neighborhood, a city block, and/ora plot of land (e.g., owned land including any building on the ownedland). Coverage area 10 may be divided into a plurality of zones 12 forcollecting data and responding to incidents as described herein. In oneexample, if coverage area 10 is a residential house, zones 12 may beseparate rooms and hallways of the building. In another example, ifcoverage area 10 is a neighborhood, each zone 12 may be a plot of landassociated with each building in the neighborhood.

In the exemplary embodiment, response drone 110 may include a processor120, a memory device 122 in communication with processor 120, and/or oneor more sensors 124. Drone 110 may be configured to move autonomously,semi-autonomously, and/or manually. Drone 110 may be any kind of land,nautical, or aeronautical drone (or smart robot). For exemplary purposesonly and without limitation, drone 110 is referred to herein as anaeronautical drone. That is, drone 110 may be configured to travel byflying.

Sensors 124 may be configured to collect sensor data of coverage area10. Sensors 124 may include any type of sensor such as a camera, a videorecorder, a thermal camera, a range sensor, temperature sensor, moisturesensor, smoke detector, luminosity sensor, radiation detector, motiondetector, pressure sensor, an audio recorder, radar unit, infraredsensor, and/or other types of sensors. Sensors 124 and/or processor 120may be configured to collect, without limitation, image data, videodata, thermal image data, positioning data, temperature data, time data,moisture data, smoke data, luminosity data, radiation data, motion data,pressure data, and/or audio data. In the exemplary embodiment, processor120 may control the operation of sensors 124. In other embodiments,sensors 124 may include a processor and/or memory device (not shown) tocapture and process sensor data autonomous of processor 102.

Each sensor 124 may be operated independently or dependently of othersensors 124. For example, in some embodiments in which sensors 124 mayinclude a camera and another sensor, the camera may be configured tocapture image data concurrently with the other sensor. Sensors 124 mayinclude user-defined settings to control the operation of sensors 124(e.g., a camera sensor may have image resolution and image acquisitionrate settings). Sensors 124 may be the same type of sensor (e.g., twocamera sensors) or different types of sensors. In some embodiments,sensors 124 may send the captured data to processor 120 for dataprocessing (e.g., processing image data).

In the exemplary system, response drone 110 may also include an objectdetector 126. Object detector 126 is configured to identify objects neardrone 110. In some embodiments, object detector 126 may include a sonardetector, a radar detector, an ultrasonic detector, and/or anotherwaveform detector. As described herein, drone 110 may be configured todetect objects, and alter or update a travel path of drone 110 to avoidthe detected objects.

In the exemplary embodiment, response drone 110 may be deployable from acontrol center 128. Control center 128 may be positioned near or withincoverage area 10 to facilitate deployment of drone 110 at coverage area10. Control center 128 may be configured to support, charge, and/orcommunicate with drone 110. In at least some embodiments, control center128 is a separate computing device from drone 110 that includes aprocessor and a memory device (both not shown). Control center 128 maybe configured to generate control signals to operate drone 110. Controlcenter 128 may be configured to perform and/or cause drone 110 toperform at least some of the functions described herein. For example,control center 128 may be in communication with one or more computingdevices of system 100 (e.g., navigation system 112) and provide drone110 with control signals or data received from the computing devices.

In the exemplary embodiment, navigation system 112 may be incommunication with response drone 110. Navigation system 112 may be oneor more computing devices configured to scan a geographical regionincluding coverage area 10, generate navigational data, and/or providethe navigational data to drone 110. In certain embodiments, navigationsystem 112 may be configured to scan one or more specific zones 12within coverage area 10. The navigation data may include, for example, amap of the geographical region, obstacles within the region, and/orlocation data. In the exemplary embodiment, drone 110 may beidentifiable by navigation system 112 during scanning and navigationsystem 112 may transmit navigation data include the location of drone110 relative to the geographic region and/or coverage area 10.Navigation system 112 may be, but is not limited to, a GlobalPositioning System (GPS), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS),and/or another position or navigation system.

In another example, if coverage area 10 is a building, navigation system112 may include two or more position sensors (not shown in FIG. 1) incommunication with drone 110. Each position sensor may determine aposition of drone 110 relative to the respective position sensor andtransmits the determined position to drone 110. Drone 110 may beconfigured to determine where drone 110 is located within coverage area10 based upon each determined position from the position sensors, suchas by using triangulation techniques along with known GPS coordinateinformation received from home-mounted sensors, and/or other ranging andbearing determination techniques. In one embodiment, the drone 100 maybe able to build a navigation map of the interior of a home or otherproperty from sensor data generated from one or more drone-mountedsensors or devices, and/or from one or more home-mounted sensors ordevices.

Security system 114 may be installed at one or more properties withincoverage area 10. In certain embodiments, security 114 may not beinstalled in coverage area 10. Security system 114 may be configured toidentify, prevent, and/or otherwise mitigate damage and/or theft to theproperties. In the exemplary embodiment, security system 114 may includea controller 130 in communication with drone 110 and/or user computingdevice 116.

Security system 114 may further include one or more security sensors 132positioned within coverage area 10. Security sensors 132 may bepositioned in fixed locations within coverage area 10. For example,security sensor 132 may be a fire alarm, smoke alarm, burglary alarm, orcamera at a fixed location monitoring a portion of coverage area 10.Similar to sensors 124 of drone 110, security sensors 132 may beconfigured to collect sensor data. Based upon the sensor data,controller 130 may determine theft and/or damage may have potentiallyoccurred and notify user computing device 116 and/or emergencyresponders (e.g., law enforcement, fire service providers, and/ormedical service providers). In the exemplary embodiment, controller 130may cause drone 110 to deploy in response to the sensor data asdescribed herein.

In addition to monitoring one or more properties, security system 114may be configured to operate one or more systems of the properties basedupon sensor data collected by security sensors 132 and/or controlsignals sent by user computing device 116. For example, controller 130may be configured to lock and unlock doors and/or windows of a building.Controller 130 may further be configured to operate systems within aproperty such as a sprinkler system, heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems, and the like to remotely manage theproperty.

In the exemplary embodiment, response drone 110 may be in communicationwith user computing device 116. User computing device 116 may beassociated with an owner or other party related to one or moreproperties within coverage area 10. In some embodiments, user computingdevice 116 may be associated with an insurance policy holder of aproperty within coverage area 10. User computing device 116 may include,for example, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, and/or akiosk terminal. User computing device 116 may include a mobile device(such as a smartphone, laptop, tablet, phablet, wearable electronics,smart glasses, smart watch or bracelet, personal digital assistant,pager, or other mobile computing device or mobile device configured forwireless communication and/or data transmission). User computing device116 may be configured to receive the sensor data from drone 110 and/orsecurity system 114 to enable the user to review the sensor data andmonitor the one or more properties remotely. User computing device 116may be further configured to transmit control input to drone 110 and/orsecurity system 114 to adjust how drone 110 and security system 114operate.

Insurance computing device 118 may be in communication with responsedrone 110 and/or user computing device 116 to receive sensor data. Insome embodiments, system 100 may include a plurality of insurancecomputing devices 118. At least one insurance computing device 118 isassociated with an insurance provider that may be providing an insurancepolicy for one or more properties within coverage area 10. Based uponthe sensor data, insurance computing device 118 may determine whether ornot an insurance policy holder is eligible for one or more insuranceactivities (e.g., generating an insurance claim, adjusting an insurancepolicy, providing a discount, and/or providing an insurance-relatedreward). If the insurance policy holder is eligible, insurance computingdevice 118 may be configured to automatically initiate the insuranceactivity. For example, insurance computing device 118 may automaticallypopulate an insurance claim for using information from the sensor dataand information stored by insurance computing device 118.

In the exemplary embodiment, system 100 may be configured to collectdata associated with coverage area 10 to facilitate detecting,preventing, and otherwise mitigating property damage and/or theft evenif the owner or another party associated with the property is notpresent. In particular, drone 110 may be configured to deploy inresponse to a triggering activity. The triggering activity may include adeployment request, expiration of a predetermined time period, and/orcollected sensor data. The deployment request may be received fromsecurity system 114 and/or user computing device 116.

The predetermined time period may be an automated schedule to facilitateautomatically collect the sensor data from coverage area 10 at recurringintervals. In at least some embodiments, user computing device 116 maybe configured to set and/or adjust the automated schedule of drone 110.The sensor data may be collected by drone 110 and/or security system 114and may indicate that an incident causing potential damage and/or theftmay have occurred within coverage area 10.

In the exemplary embodiment, the triggering activity may also beassociated with one or more zones 12. For example, the triggeringactivity may be associated with an alarm of security system 114activating in a zone 12. In another example, user computing device 116may be configured to build and/or display a map of coverage area 10 thatenables the owner to select specific zones 12 to direct drone 110 tocollect sensor data at the selected zones 12. If the triggering activityis associated with a zone 12, drone 110 may be configured to deploy andtravel to associated zone 12. If no zone 12 is associated with thetriggering activity, drone 110 may be configured to deploy and travelaround at least a portion of coverage area 10.

In the exemplary embodiment, drone 110 may be configured to determine anavigation path to zone 12 associated with the triggering activity. Inat least some embodiments, drone 110 may build and/or store a map ofcoverage area 10 within memory device 124 and/or another memoryassociated with drone 110 that may include information such as potentialobstacles, points of entry to the zone, and names for each zone. Drone110 may also receive the navigation data from navigation system 112 todetermine the navigation path, and/or build a navigation map of thecoverage area.

Drone 110 may deploy from control center 128 and automatically travelalong the determined navigation path through coverage area 10. As drone110 travels, drone 110 may be configured to receive additionalnavigation data from navigation system 112 to automatically adjust itsmovement and/or the navigation path. In certain embodiments, objectdetectors 126 may be configured to identify nearby objects and drone 110may update the navigation path to avoid objects that may potentiallyblock the navigation path. For example, if a door is closed that blocksthe navigation path, drone 110 may update the navigation path tocircumvent the closed door.

In at least some embodiments, user computing device 116 may beconfigured to transmit control inputs to drone 110 to navigate drone 110through coverage area 10 manually. In some embodiments, drone 110 may beconfigured to switch between automated and manual control of navigation.For example, drone 110 may automatically travel along the navigationpath until an obstacle is reached and user computing device 116 maytransmit control inputs to drone 110 to navigate around the obstacle.

Once drone 110 reaches zone 12 associated with the triggering activity,drone 110 may be configure to collect sensor data from zone 12 usingsensors 124. In some embodiments, drone 110 may collect initial sensordata and analyze the initial sensor data to detect any potentialpoints-of-interest (POIs) in zone 12. More specifically, drone 110 maybe configured to analyze the initial sensor data to detect any potentialincidents, damage, and/or theft. For example, if drone 110 includes athermal camera, drone 110 may detect a potential fire based uponcollected thermal data. In another example, drone 110 may store previousimage data of zone 12 and may compare an image of the initial sensordata to the stored image to determine if any items have been potentiallystolen. Drone 110 may be configured to tag the POIs within the collectedsensor to enable other computing devices such as user computing device116 to identify the POIs. In some embodiments, user computing device 116may be configured to transmit control inputs to drone 110 to operatesensors 124.

The collected sensor data may be transmitted to user computing device116 for review. User computing device 116 and/or the user associatedwith user computing device 116 may determine whether or not any damageand/or theft has occurred from the sensor data. In the exemplaryembodiment, user computing device 116 may be configured to provide theuser an option to contact an emergency service provider or other thirdparty.

In at least some embodiments, drone 110 and/or user computing device 116may automatically transmit at least a portion of the collected sensordata to the emergency service provider to enable the emergency serviceprovider to provide an appropriate response. For example, the emergencyservice provider may send first responders equipped with fire equipmentif the sensor data indicates that a fire has occurred. In anotherexample, if a theft occurred, the sensor data may be used by lawenforcement to generate a record of the theft.

In the exemplary embodiment, drone 110 and/or user computing device 116may be configured to transmit the sensor data to insurance computingdevice 118 to initiate one or more insurance activities. The sensor datamay also be used by the insurance provider associated with insurancecomputing device 118 to determine information such as an origin of thedamage and/or theft. For example, the insurance provider may determine athief entered a property through an unlocked window based upon imagedata. In another example, the insurance provider may determine a fireoriginated from an electrical wall socket based upon thermal data andimage data.

In at least some embodiments, drone 110 may further include one or moreresponse devices 134 configured to prevent, mitigate, and/or otherrespond to incidents that may cause potential damage and/or theft. Forexample, and without limitation, response devices 134 may include aflashlight, a speaker, a fire extinguisher, a water hose, an alarm, achemical device, and/or a tagging device (e.g., paint sprayer). Thechemical device may be configured to dispense chemicals that may reducedamage to the property. For example, the chemical device may beconfigured to extinguish flames. In another example, the chemical devicemay be configured to seal openings or to absorb moisture. The taggingdevice may be used, for example, to mark a POI within zone 12 or to marka potential thief. In at least some embodiments, user computing device116 may be configured to operate response devices 134.

Once drone 110 has finished collecting sensor data and/or responding toan incident, drone 110 may be configured to navigate to another zone 12to collect more sensor data or back to control center 128. In someembodiments, when a power supply (not shown) of drone 110 is reducedbelow a threshold capacity, drone 110 may automatically return tocontrol center 218. Drone 110 may determine the navigation path to thenext zone 12 or control center 128 by analyzing the stored map ofcoverage area 10, the navigation data from navigation system 112, and/orinformation received from object detector 126. In some embodiments,control center 128 may be configured to guide drone 110 back to controlcenter 128. Once drone 110 reaches control center 128, drone 110 maydock and await another triggering activity.

Exemplary Response System for a Neighborhood

FIG. 2 depicts a side view of a portion of an exemplary response system200 for collecting sensor data from a neighborhood 20 (i.e., a coveragearea) and responding to incidents. Neighborhood 20 may be divided into aplurality of zones 22. Each zone 22 may be a separate property. System200 may be substantially similar to system 100 (shown in FIG. 1) and, inthe absence of contrary representation, includes similar components andfunctions. In the exemplary embodiment, system 200 may include aresponse drone 210, a security system 214, a user computing device 216,and/or a control center 228. In other embodiments, system 200 mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternate components, including thosedescribed elsewhere herein.

In the exemplary embodiment, drone 210 may be an aerial drone deployablefrom control center 228. Control center 228 may be positioned within ornear neighborhood 20. Drone 210 may be configured to travel aroundneighborhood 20 and collect sensor data. In the exemplary embodiment,drone 210 may be configured to travel to each zone 22 at a predeterminedinterval or time period to collect sensor data. In at least someembodiments, drone 210 may be configured to respond to incidentsoccurring within neighborhood 20. Security system 214 may includesecurity systems 215 for at least some zones 22. In the exemplaryembodiment, one zone 22 may not include a security system 215. Securitysystem 214 may be configured to monitor zones 22 and transmit adeployment request in response to potential damage and/or theft.

User computing device 216 may be operated by a user associated withneighborhood 20. For example, user computing device 216 may be operatedby an owner from one or more zones 22, a party maintaining system 200, aparty managing neighborhood 20 (i.e., a local government), and/oranother party. In some embodiments, system 200 may include a pluralityof user computing devices 216 associated with owners of each zone 22. Insuch embodiments, at least some user computing device 216 may beprovided limited control of or access to drone 210 based upon therespective zone 22.

Exemplary Response System for a Building

FIG. 3 depicts a cross sectional side view of a partial exemplaryresponse system 300 for collecting sensor data from a building 30 andresponding to incidents. Building 30 may be divided into a plurality ofzones 32. Each zone 32 may be a separate room or hallway within building30. System 300 may be substantially similar to systems 100, 200 (shownin FIGS. 1 and 2) and, in the absence of contrary representation,includes similar components and functions. In the exemplary embodiment,system 300 may include a response drone 310, a navigation system 312, auser computing device 316, and/or a control center 328. In otherembodiments, system 300 may include additional, fewer, or alternatecomponents, including those described elsewhere herein.

Drone 310 may be deployable from control center 328. In the exemplaryembodiment, control center 328 may be positioned within building 30.Navigation system 312 may include two or more navigation beacons 313. Inthe exemplary embodiment, navigation beacons 313 may be positionedwithin building 30. In other embodiments, navigation beacons 313 may bepositioned at different locations.

Navigation beacons 313 may be communicatively coupled to drone 310.Navigation beacons 313 may be configured to broadcast position datarelative to a position of drone 310. Drone 310 may be configured toreceive the position data from each navigation beacon 313 to determineits position within building 30.

For instance, data from each navigation beacon 313 may include GPSinformation and/or time of data transmission. Using triangulation,ranging, and/or bearing related techniques and comparison, drone 310 maydetermine its location within a building 30. If GPS data is determinedunreliable due to the drone 310 being unable to cleanly receivesatellite signals, dead reckoning (DR) or other non-GPS signal-basedtechniques may be used to determine the drone 310 location within thebuilding, as well as to update its position/location within the buildingas it moves about the interior of the building.

User computing device 316 may be associated with an owner of building30. In other embodiments, user computing device 316 may be associatedwith a different party. The owner may use response system 300 toremotely monitor building 30. For example, user computing device 316 mayprovide the owner with a map of building 30 with selectable zones 32.When one or more zones 32 are selected, drone 310 may be deployed to theselected zones 32 to collect sensor data and respond to any detectedincidents.

Exemplary Computing Device

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary configuration of a computing device 402.Computing device 402 may include, but is not limited to, response drone110, user computing device 116, insurance computing device 118, controlcenter 128, and/or controller 130 shown in FIG. 1. Computing device 402may also include drone 210, control center 228, and/or user computingdevice 216 shown in FIG. 2 and/or drone 310, control center 328, and/oruser computing device 316 shown in FIG. 3.

Computing device 402 may include a processor 405 for executinginstructions. In some embodiments, executable instructions may be storedin a memory area 410. Processor 405 may include one or more processingunits (e.g., in a multi-core configuration). Memory area 410 may be anydevice allowing information such as executable instructions and/or otherdata to be stored and retrieved. Memory area 410 may include one or morecomputer-readable media.

Computing device 402 may also include at least one media outputcomponent 415 for presenting information to a user 430. Media outputcomponent 415 may be any component capable of conveying information touser 430. In some embodiments, media output component 415 may include anoutput adapter, such as a video adapter and/or an audio adapter. Anoutput adapter may be operatively coupled to processor 405 andoperatively coupleable to an output device such as a display device(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode(OLED) display, cathode ray tube (CRT), or “electronic ink” display) oran audio output device (e.g., a speaker or headphones). In someembodiments, media output component 415 may be configured to present aninteractive user interface (e.g., a web browser or client application)to user 430. The interactive user interface may include, for example, areality augmentation interface for requesting and viewing EnhancedSituation Visualization.

In some embodiments, computing device 402 may include an input device420 for receiving input from user 430. Input device 420 may include, forexample, a keyboard, a pointing device, a mouse, a stylus, a touchsensitive panel (e.g., a touch pad or a touch screen), a camera, agyroscope, an accelerometer, a position detector, a thermometer, athermocouple, and/or an audio input device. A single component such as atouch screen may function as both an output device of media outputcomponent 415 and input device 420.

Computing device 402 may also include a communication interface 425,which may be communicatively coupleable to a remote device such asinsurance computing device 118. Communication interface 425 may include,for example, a wired or wireless network adapter or a wireless datatransceiver for use with a mobile phone network (e.g., Global System forMobile communications (GSM), 3G, 4G or Bluetooth) or other mobile datanetwork (e.g., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX)).

Stored in memory area 410 are, for example, computer-readableinstructions for providing a user interface to user 430 via media outputcomponent 415 and, optionally, receiving and processing input from inputdevice 420. A user interface may include, among other possibilities, aweb browser and client application. Web browsers enable users 430 todisplay and interact with media and other information typically embeddedon a web page or a website from a web server associated with a merchant.A client application allows users 430 to interact with a serverapplication associated with, for example, a vendor or business.

Exemplary Host Computing Device

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary configuration of a host computing device502. Host computing device 502 may be representative of user computingdevice 116, insurance computing device 118, control center 128, and/orcontroller 130 (all shown in FIG. 1). Host computing device 502 mayfurther be representative of user computing device 216 and/or controlcenter 228 shown in FIG. 2 and/or user computing device 316 and/orcontrol center 328 shown in FIG. 3. Host computing device 502 mayinclude a processor 504 for executing instructions. Instructions may bestored in a memory area 506, for example. Processor 504 may include oneor more processing units (e.g., in a multi-core configuration).

Processor 504 may be operatively coupled to a communication interface508 such that server computing device 502 may be capable ofcommunicating with a remote device such as computing device 402 shown inFIG. 4 or another server computing device 502. For example,communication interface 508 may receive requests from user computingdevice 402 via the Internet.

Processor 504 may also be operatively coupled to a storage device 510.Storage device 510 may be any computer-operated hardware suitable forstoring and/or retrieving data. In some embodiments, storage device 510may be integrated in server computing device 502. For example, servercomputing device 502 may include one or more hard disk drives as storagedevice 510. In other embodiments, storage device 510 may be external toserver computing device 502 and may be accessed by a plurality of servercomputing devices 502. For example, storage device 510 may includemultiple storage units such as hard disks or solid state disks in aRedundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) configuration. Storagedevice 510 may include a Storage Area Network (SAN) and/or a networkattached storage (NAS) system.

In some embodiments, processor 504 may be operatively coupled to storagedevice 510 via a storage interface 512. Storage interface 512 may be anycomponent capable of providing processor 904 with access to storagedevice 510. Storage interface 512 may include, for example, an AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA) adapter, a Serial ATA (SATA) adapter, aSmall Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter, a RAID controller, a SANadapter, a network adapter, and/or any component providing processor 904with access to storage device 910.

Memory areas 410 (shown in FIG. 4) and 506 may include, but are notlimited to, random access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) orstatic RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM). The above memory typesare example only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memoryusable for storage of a computer program.

Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Detecting Incidents in aCoverage Area

FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram of an exemplary method 600 for detectingand responding to incidents associated with properties in a coveragearea using a response system, such as systems 100, 200, 300 (shown inFIGS. 1-3). In the exemplary embodiment, method 600 may be at leastpartially performed by a response drone of the response system. Incertain embodiments, other computing devices such as a control centercommunicatively coupled to the drone may perform at least some steps ofmethod 600. In other embodiments, method 600 may include additional,fewer, or alternative steps, including those described elsewhere herein.

Method 600 may begin with the drone detecting 602 a triggering activityassociated with one or more zones of the coverage area. The triggeringactivity may include a deployment request, an expiration of apredetermined period of time, and/or sensor data collected by a securitysystem and/or the drone. The drone may determine 604 a navigation pathto a first zone associated with triggering activity. The navigation pathmay be based upon stored information, such as a map of the coverage areaand navigation data received from a navigation system. In otherembodiments, the drone may build a map of the coverage area using thenavigation data received, and/or other data generated or collected byone or more drone-mounted sensors in real time. The drone may travel 606to the first zone based upon the determined navigation path. In at leastsome embodiments, the drone may adjust the navigation path to avoidobstacles or to otherwise navigate to the first zone.

Once the drone reaches the first zone, the drone may collect 608 sensordata using one or more sensors at the first zone. In certainembodiments, the drone may detect one or more POIs from the collectedsensor data and tag the POIs to facilitate identification of the POIs byother computing devices. The drone may activate a response device ifpotential damage or theft is detected. The drone may transmit 610 thecollected sensor data to a user computing device associated with thecoverage area for review. In some embodiments, the drone may transmitthe collected sensor data to an insurance computing device to determineif an insurance activity should be initiated in response to thecollected sensor data.

In some embodiments, the user computing device may be configured totransmit control inputs or signals to the drone to manually orsemi-autonomously control the operation of the drone. For example, theuser computing device may cause the drone to navigate, collect sensordata, and/or activate the response device.

Exemplary Embodiments

In one aspect, a home monitoring drone may be a small aircraft that maybe automatically deployed to monitor homes or other property, and fightfires or otherwise mitigate damage. The smart drone may be integratedwith s smart home controller, or act as a stand-alone monitoringsolution.

If working as a stand-alone system, the drone may automatically navigateand survey the property using onboard sensors. If anything is found outof place, an alert may be sent to the owner, such as via their mobiledevice. The owner, from their mobile device, may choose to take control,continue monitoring, or alert emergency services.

If integrated into a smart home controller, the drone may be activatedwhen an alert is received from a smart home controller. Usinglocation/zone information received from the smart home controller, thedrone may navigate to the site of the breech/alert. The owner, fromtheir mobile device, may choose to take control, continue monitoring, oralert emergency services.

The drone may also be able to locate and fight fires by carrying a fireextinguisher or fire extinguishing chemicals. For instance, the dronemay be a land-based robot that carries a small fire extinguisher. Thedrone may use a 3D camera to facilitate mapping the environment andassisting with navigation. The drone may automatically respond tosignals transmitted from the smart home controller, and travel to thesource of the alarm to begin monitoring.

The present embodiments may facilitate data streaming via a mobiledevice App. The mobile device App or application may alert the owner ofthe property, allow the owner to monitor their property virtually,and/or alert emergency responders, if need be. When a fire or otherevent is detected, the drone can respond to the affected area and useits onboard fire extinguisher or other mechanisms to control the fire.The owner may have the ability to remotely activate and control thedrone, and monitor the property at will.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computer system 700 that directs anautonomous drone 702 to mitigate home damage. The computer system 700may include an insured property 704 that is separated into multiplezones 706, and a smart home system or controller 708. The smart homesystem or controller 708 may be in wired or wireless communication withvarious sensors mounted about the insured property 704, and/or include ahome security system.

The smart home controller 708 may also be in wired or wirelesscommunication with a drone charging station/control center 710 and/orthe insured's mobile device 712. The smart home controller 708 maydetect that an alarm has been triggered. The smart home controller 708may then wirelessly communicate with the autonomous drone 702, the dronecharging station 710, and/or the insured's mobile device 712. Theautonomous drone 702 may be automatically deployed from the chargingstation 710. The autonomous drone 702 may navigate to the affected zonewithin the property 704 using, for example, dead reckoning and/orspacial imaging to avoid obstacles. The autonomous drone 702 may streamdata back to the insured or property 704 owner on their mobile device712. The owner or insured may use this information to decide whether ornot to alert emergency services.

The autonomous drone 702 may be directed or navigated to an impactedzone and begin monitoring under the direction or control of one or moreremote or local processors, such as one or more processors associatedwith, or mounted on, the drone 702, mobile device 712, drone chargingstation/control center 710, and/or security/home monitoring system orsmart home controller 708. Navigation maps of the home may be pre-builtor built in real-time via the drone 702, home-mounted sensor data,and/or drone-mounted sensor data. The drone charging station 710 mayinclude a port that allows the drone 702 to dock automatically, and towirelessly charge one or more drone-mounted batteries.

In one aspect, an autonomous drone for mitigating home damage may beprovided. The autonomous drone may include one or more processors,sensors, or transceivers configured to: (1) receive, from a smart homecontroller, via wireless communication or data transmission, directionsor commands directing the autonomous drone to an impacted zone within aproperty, the impacted zone being associated with an insurance-relatedevent, the insurance-related event being detected by a home monitoringsystem; (2) receive, via wireless communication or data transmissionfrom the smart home controller, a navigation map of the interior of theproperty, or retrieve the navigation map of the interior of the propertyfrom an on-board memory unit that is mounted on the autonomous drone,the navigation map of the interior of the property indicating a locationof the impacted zone; (3) navigate the drone to the impacted zone usingthe navigation map and/or sensor data collected from one or moredrone-mounted sensors or home-mounted sensors; (4) verify or determinean abnormal condition exists at the impacted zone via sensor datacollected from the one or more drone-mounted sensors; and/or (5)generate and transmit (via wireless communication or data transmissionover one or more radio frequency links) a notification that the abnormalcondition exists at the impacted zone of the property, or generate andtransmit (via wireless communication or data transmission over one ormore radio frequency links) one or more recommended actions to a mobiledevice of a customer to facilitate mitigating or preventing home damage.The autonomous drone may be configured to have additional, less, oralternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

The insurance-related event may cause fire or water damage to theproperty. The insurance-related event may be a fire, break-in, or waterleak. The insurance-related event may be originally detected by a smoke,fire, heat, infrared, moisture, water, door-mounted, window-mounted,audio, image, light, temperature, or infrared sensor mounted on theproperty, and in wired or wireless communication with the homemonitoring system. The insurance-related event may be subsequentlyverified by a smoke, fire, heat, infrared, moisture, water,door-mounted, window-mounted, audio, image, light, temperature, orinfrared sensor mounted on the drone.

The one or more recommended actions may include deployment or activationof a fire extinguisher mounted on the autonomous drone, or deployment oractivation of a wall or stove-mounted fire extinguisher; or activationof a water main electronically controlled valve to supply water to afire, or to shut off the supply of water to an area associated with awater leak. The one or more recommended actions or notifications sent tothe mobile device ask the customer if they would like to deploy oractivate a wall, fire place, oven, or stove-mounted fire extinguisher;or activate a water main electronically controlled (e.g., solenoid)valve to supply water to a fire, or to shut off the supply of water toan area associated with a water leak.

The one or more recommended actions may include contacting emergencyresponders or vehicles, such as a fire department or police. Theautonomous drone may be an unmanned, autonomous aerial vehicle or anunmanned, autonomous land-based robotic rover.

The autonomous drone may be configured to autonomously deploy and landat a drone re-charging station that wirelessly recharges one or morebatteries mounted on the autonomous drone. The autonomous drone may beconfigured to generate a flight path about the property; detectobstacles within the flight path; alter the flight path to have theautonomous drone avoid the obstacles; and/or direct the autonomous droneto travel about the property in accordance with the altered flight pathto avoid the obstacles. The autonomous drone may be configured to:collect or generate sensor data from the one or more drone-mountedsensors, the sensor data being associated with the impacted area withinthe property before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event;estimate an amount of damages to the property and/or insured personalarticles from computer analysis of the sensor data (such as by usingobject recognition or pattern recognition techniques on the sensordata), or input the sensor data into a machine learning program that istrained to determine or estimate damages to property and/or personalarticles; and/or generate a proposed insurance claim based upon theestimate amount of damages for the insured's review, approval, and/ormodification.

The autonomous drone may be configured to: prior to the insurancerelated event, collect or generate sensor data from the one or moredrone-mounted sensors, the sensor data being associated with theinterior of the property and personal articles before aninsurance-related event; estimate a replacement cost or value of theproperty, property features (or characteristics, such as flooring, fireplace, cabinetry, size of rooms, number of rooms or floors) and/orinsured personal articles from computer analysis of the sensor data(such as by using object recognition or pattern recognition techniqueson the sensor data), or input the sensor data into a machine learningprogram that is trained to determine or estimate the replacement cost orvalue of the property, property features, and/or personal articles;and/or generate an insurance quote for homeowners and/or personalarticles insurance based upon the estimate amount of damages for theinsured's review, approval, and/or modification.

In another aspect, an autonomous drone for mitigating home damage may beprovided. The autonomous drone may include one or more processors,sensors, or transceivers configured to: (1) receive, from a smart homecontroller, via wireless communication or data transmission, directionsor commands directing the autonomous drone to periodically navigate toone or more predetermined locations within a property, and monitor orotherwise look for abnormal conditions at the one or more predeterminedlocations; (2) receive, via wireless communication or data transmissionfrom the smart home controller, a navigation map of the interior of theproperty, or retrieve the navigation map of the interior of the propertyfrom an on-board memory unit that is mounted on the autonomous drone,the navigation map of the interior of the property indicating a locationof the impacted zone; (3) navigate the drone to the one or morepredetermined locations using the navigation map, and/or sensor datacollected from one or more autonomous drone-mounted sensors orhome-mounted sensors; (4) collect or generate sensor data from the oneor more autonomous drone-mounted sensors while at the one or morepredetermined locations; (5) input the sensor data into a machinelearning program that is trained to identify abnormal conditions, orotherwise determine that an abnormal condition exists at a predeterminedlocation via the sensor data collected from the one or more autonomousdrone-mounted sensors; and/or (6) generate and transmit (via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over one or more radio frequencylinks) a notification that the abnormal condition exists at the impactedzone of the property, or generate and transmit (via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over one or more radio frequencylinks) one or more recommended actions to a mobile device of a customerto facilitate mitigating or preventing home damage. The autonomous dronemay be configured to have additional, less, or alternate functionality,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using an autonomousdrone to mitigate home damage may be provided. The autonomous drone mayinclude one or more processors, sensors, or transceivers. The method mayinclude (1) receiving, at or by one or more drone-mounted processorsfrom a smart home controller, via wireless communication or datatransmission, directions or commands directing the autonomous drone toan impacted zone within a property, the impacted zone being associatedwith an insurance-related event, the insurance-related event beingdetected by a home monitoring system; (2) receiving, at or by the one ormore drone-mounted processors via wireless communication or datatransmission from the smart home controller, a navigation map of theinterior of the property, or retrieving, at or by the one or moredrone-mounted processors, the navigation map of the interior of theproperty from an on-board memory unit that is mounted on the autonomousdrone, the navigation map of the interior of the property indicating alocation of the impacted zone; (3) navigating, via the one or moredrone-mounted processors, the autonomous drone to the impacted zoneusing the navigation map, and/or sensor data collected from one or moredrone-mounted sensors or home-mounted sensors; (4) verifying ordetermining, via the one or more drone-mounted processors, that anabnormal condition exists at the impacted zone via the sensor datacollected from the one or more drone-mounted sensors; and/or (5)generating and transmitting (via wireless communication or datatransmission over one or more radio frequency links) a notification thatthe abnormal condition exists at the impacted zone of the property, orgenerating and transmitting (via wireless communication or datatransmission over one or more radio frequency links) one or morerecommended actions to a mobile device of a customer to facilitatemitigating or preventing home damage. The method may include one or moreadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

For instance, the insurance-related event may cause fire or water damageto the property, or be a fire, break-in, or water leak. Theinsurance-related event may be detected (or verified) by a smoke, fire,heat, infrared, moisture, water, door-mounted, window-mounted, audio,image, light, temperature, or infrared sensor mounted on the property(or drone mounted sensor) and in wired or wireless communication withthe home monitoring system.

The one or more recommended actions may include deployment or activationof a fire extinguisher mounted on the autonomous drone. The one or morerecommended actions include deployment or activation of a wall orstove-mounted fire extinguisher; or activation of a water mainelectronically controlled valve to supply water to a fire, or to shutoff the supply of water to an area associated with a water leak. The oneor more recommended actions or notifications to the mobile device mayask the customer if they would like to deploy or activate a wall, fireplace, oven, or stove-mounted fire extinguisher; or activate a watermain electronically controlled (e.g., solenoid) valve to supply water toa fire, or to shut off the supply of water to an area associated with awater leak. The one or more recommended actions may include contactingemergency responders or vehicles, such as a fire department or police.The autonomous drone may be an unmanned, autonomous aerial vehicle or anunmanned, autonomous land-based robotic rover.

The autonomous drone may be configured to autonomously deploy and landat a drone re-charging station that wirelessly recharges one or morebatteries mounted on the autonomous drone. The method may include, viathe one or more drone-mounted processors, (i) generating a flight pathabout the property; (ii) detecting obstacles within the flight path;(iii) altering the flight path to have the autonomous drone avoid theobstacles; and/or (iv) directing the autonomous drone to travel aboutthe property in accordance with the altered flight path to avoid theobstacles.

The method may include, via the one or more drone-mounted processors orsensors: (i) collecting or generating sensor data from the one or moredrone-mounted sensors, the sensor data being associated with theimpacted area within the property before, during, and/or after theinsurance-related event; (ii) estimating an amount of damages to theproperty and/or insured personal articles from computer analysis of thesensor data (such as by using object recognition or pattern recognitiontechniques on the sensor data), or inputting the sensor data into amachine learning program that is trained to determine or estimatedamages to property and/or personal articles; and/or (iii) generating aproposed insurance claim based upon the estimate amount of damages forthe insured's review, approval, and/or modification.

The method may include, via the one or more drone-mounted processors orsensors: (i) prior to the insurance related event, collecting orgenerating sensor data from the one or more drone-mounted sensors, thesensor data being associated with the interior of the property andpersonal articles before an insurance-related event; (ii) estimating areplacement cost or value of the property, property features (orcharacteristics, such as flooring, fire place, cabinetry, size of rooms,number of rooms or floors) and/or insured personal articles fromcomputer analysis of the sensor data (such as by using objectrecognition or pattern recognition techniques on the sensor data), orinputting the sensor data into a machine learning program that istrained to determine or estimate the replacement cost or value of theproperty, property features, and/or personal articles; and/or (iii)generating an insurance quote for homeowners and/or personal articlesinsurance based upon the estimate amount of damages for the insured'sreview, approval, and/or modification.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using an autonomousdrone to mitigate home damage may be provided. The autonomous drone mayinclude one or more processors, sensors, or transceivers. The method mayinclude: (1) receiving, at or by one or more drone-mounted processors ortransceivers from a smart home controller, via wireless communication ordata transmission, directions or commands directing the autonomous droneto periodically navigate the drone to one or more predeterminedlocations within a property, and monitor or otherwise look for abnormalconditions at the one or more predetermined locations; (ii) receiving,at or by the one or more drone-mounted processors or transceivers, viawireless communication or data transmission from the smart homecontroller a navigation map of the interior of the property, orretrieving, via the one or more drone-mounted processors, the navigationmap of the interior of the property from an on-board memory unit that ismounted on the autonomous drone, the navigation map of the interior ofthe property indicating a location of the impacted zone; (iii)navigating the drone, via the one or more drone-mounted processors, tothe one or more predetermined locations using the navigation map, and/orsensor data collected from one or more autonomous drone-mounted sensorsor home-mounted sensors; (iv) collecting or generating, via one or moredrone-mounted sensors, sensor data from the one or more autonomousdrone-mounted sensors while at the one or more predetermined locations;(v) inputting, via the one or more processors, the sensor data into amachine learning program that is trained to identify abnormalconditions, or otherwise determining, via the one or more processors,that an abnormal condition exists at a predetermined location via thesensor data collected from the one or more autonomous drone-mountedsensors; and/or (vi) generating and transmitting (via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over one or more radio frequencylinks), via the one or more drone-mounted processors or transceivers, anotification that the abnormal condition exists at the impacted zone ofthe property, or generating and transmitting (via wireless communicationor data transmission over one or more radio frequency links), via theone or more drone-mounted processors or transceivers, one or morerecommended actions to a mobile device of a customer to facilitatemitigating or preventing home damage. The method may include additional,less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In one aspect, a drone for detecting incidents within a coverage areaincluding a plurality of zones may be provided. The drone may include aprocessor, a memory in communication with the processor, and/or asensor. The processor may be programmed to (1) detect a triggeringactivity associated with a first zone of the zones; (2) determine anavigation path to the first zone; (3) travel to the first zone basedupon the determined navigation path; (4) collect sensor data using thesensor at the first zone; and/or (5) transmit the collected sensor datato a user computing device associated with the coverage area for review.The drone may include additional, fewer, or alternative componentsand/or functions, including those described elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer-based method for detecting incidentswithin a coverage area including a plurality of zones may be provided.The method may be at least partially performed by a drone. The methodmay include (1) detecting a triggering activity associated with a firstzone of the zones; (2) determining a navigation path to the first zone;(3) traveling to the first zone based upon the determined navigationpath; (4) collecting sensor data using a sensor at the first zone;and/or (5) transmitting the collected sensor data to a user computingdevice associated with the coverage area for review. The method mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternative steps, including thosedescribed elsewhere herein, and may be implemented via one or moreautonomous drones and/or local or remote processors, sensors, and/ortransceivers.

In yet another aspect, at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereonfor detecting incidents within a coverage area including a plurality ofzones may be provided. When executed by at least one processor, thecomputer-executable instructions may cause the processor to detect atriggering activity associated with a first zone of the zones; determinea navigation path to the first zone; travel to the first zone based uponthe determined navigation path; collect sensor data using a sensorcommunicatively coupled to the processor at the first zone; and/ortransmit the collected sensor data to a user computing device associatedwith the coverage area for review. The computer-executable instructionsmay cause the processor to perform additional, fewer, or alternativefunctions, including those described elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a response system may be provided. The responsesystem may include an autonomous drone. The autonomous drone may includea processor, a memory in communication with the processor, and a sensor.The processor may be programmed to build a virtual map of a coveragearea, store the virtual map in the memory, receive a deployment signal,deploy the drone in response to the deployment signal, control movementof the drone within the coverage area using the virtual map, collectsensor data of the coverage area using the sensor, and/or analyze thesensor data to generate an inventory list of the coverage area, theinventory list including a personal article within the coverage area.The response system may include addition, fewer, or alternativecomponents and/or functions, including those described elsewhere herein.

In a further aspect, a method for generating an inventory list for acoverage area using a response system may be provided. The responsesystem may include an autonomous drone and a processor. The method maybe, at least partially, performed by the processor. The method mayinclude building a virtual map of a coverage area, storing the virtualmap in a memory associated with the drone, receiving, by the drone, adeployment signal, deploying the drone in response to the deploymentsignal, controlling, by the processor, movement of the drone within thecoverage area using the virtual map, collecting sensor data of thecoverage area using a sensor of the drone, and/or analyzing, by theprocessor, the sensor data to generate an inventory list of the coveragearea, the inventory list including a personal article within thecoverage area. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternativesteps, including those described elsewhere herein, and may beimplemented via one or more autonomous drones and/or local or remoteprocessors, sensors, and/or transceivers.

In yet another aspect, at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereonfor generating an inventory list using a response system including anautonomous drone may be provided. When executed by at least oneprocessor, the computer-executable instructions may cause the processorto build a virtual map of a coverage area, store the virtual map in amemory associated with the drone, receive a deployment signal, deploythe drone in response to the deployment signal, control movement of thedrone within the coverage area using the virtual map, collect sensordata of the coverage area using the sensor, and/or analyze the sensordata to generate an inventory list of the coverage area, the inventorylist including a personal article within the coverage area. Thecomputer-executable instructions may cause the processor to performadditional, fewer, or alternative functions, including those describedelsewhere herein.

In another aspect, at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon foranalyzing sensor data of a coverage area using a response system, theresponse system including a drone and a security system including acontroller may be provided. When executed by at least one processor, thecomputer-executable instructions may cause the processor to link thedrone to the controller, build a virtual navigation map of the coveragearea based, at least in part, upon initial sensor data stored by thedrone, determine that the coverage area is unoccupied, deploy the dronefrom a docking station, navigate the coverage area based upon thevirtual navigation map, collect sensor data of the coverage area usingthe drone sensor, and/or analyze the collected sensor data to identifyan abnormal condition within the coverage area, the abnormal conditionincluding at least one of damage or theft occurring within the coveragearea. The computer-executable instructions may cause the processor toperform additional, fewer, or alternative functions, including thosedescribed elsewhere herein.

Machine Learning

As indicated above, a processor or a processing element may be trainedusing supervised or unsupervised machine learning, and the machinelearning program may employ a neural network, which may be aconvolutional neural network, a deep learning neural network, or acombined learning module or program that learns in two or more fields orareas of interest. Machine learning may involve identifying andrecognizing patterns in existing data (such as drone data; drone-mountedor home-mounted sensor data; mobile device sensor data; and/or image orradar data) in order to facilitate making predictions for subsequentdata (again, such as drone data; drone-mounted or home-mounted sensordata, mobile device sensor data; and/or image or radar data). Models maybe created based upon example inputs of data in order to make valid andreliable predictions for novel inputs.

Additionally or alternatively, the machine learning programs may betrained by inputting sample data sets or certain data into the programs,such as drone, drone-mounted sensor, mobile device-mounted sensor,and/or home-mounted sensor data, smart home controller data, and otherdata discuss herein. The machine learning programs may utilize deeplearning algorithms are primarily focused on pattern recognition, andmay be trained after processing multiple examples. The machine learningprograms may include Bayesian program learning (BPL), voice recognitionand synthesis, image or object recognition, optical characterrecognition, and/or natural language processing—either individually orin combination. The machine learning programs may also include naturallanguage processing, semantic analysis, automatic reasoning, and/ormachine learning.

In supervised machine learning, a processing element may be providedwith example inputs and their associated outputs, and may seek todiscover a general rule that maps inputs to outputs, so that whensubsequent novel inputs are provided the processing element may, basedupon the discovered rule, accurately predict the correct or a preferredoutput. In unsupervised machine learning, the processing element may berequired to find its own structure in unlabeled example inputs. In oneembodiment, machine learning techniques may be used to extract thesensed items, such as fires, break-ins, or water leaks, using datagenerated by one or more drone-mounted sensors, and determine under whatconditions those items were encountered.

Additionally, the machine learning programs may be trained withdrone-mounted sensor data, home-mounted sensor data, mobile devicesensor data, smart home controller data, and/or other sensor data toidentify abnormal conditions (e.g., fires or water leaks); estimatedamage to a property, property features, or personal articles; estimaterepair or replacement costs for properties, property features, orpersonal articles; estimate insurance quotes for properties, propertyfeatures, or personal articles; generate navigation maps; identifyflight paths and obstacles within properties; determine correctiveactions (de-energize circuits, control smart water valves, control smartfire extinguishers); determine recommendations; generate proposedinsurance claims for insureds after an insurance-related event; and/orother actions discussed herein.

Exemplary Autonomous Drone Sensor Data Collection

FIG. 8 is an exemplary computer-implemented method 800 of usingautonomous drones to collect sensor data for insurance-related purposes.The method 800 may be implemented using system 100 (shown in FIG. 1).The method 800 may include building or generating 802 a virtual map ofthe interior of a home (i.e., a coverage area). For instance, thevirtual map may be generated using floor plans or layouts; home-mountedsensor data; video or image data; mobile device-mounted sensor or cameradata; and/or 3D imaging device or techniques. The virtual map may beuploaded to a memory unit mounted on the autonomous drone. For instance,the virtual map may reside on a memory unit associated with a smart homecontroller or a drone charging station, and may be transmitted from thesmart home controller or drone charging station to the autonomous dronefor storage thereon via a wireless communication channel or radiofrequency link. The virtual map is stored in a memory associated withthe drone after the map is generated.

The method 800 may include detecting a trigger event and launching theautonomous drone 804. For instance, a trigger event may be ahome-mounted sensor detecting an abnormal condition—such as abnormalwater, leakage, smoke, break-in, or fire. The trigger event may also bea wireless command (“deployment signal”) from a customer user devicedirecting the autonomous drone to deploy. The deployment signal may beperiodically transmitted to the drone after a predetermined period oftime to enable the drone to periodically deploy and collect updatedsensor data. In at least some embodiments, the drone may be configuredto receive the deployment signal to deploy and collect initial sensordata associated with the coverage area to build the virtual map or tocreate an inventory list as described herein. After the trigger event isdetected or an indication of the trigger event wirelessly or wiredlyreceived, the autonomous drone may deploy or launch.

The method 800 may include performing 806 some initial checks by theautonomous drone after power up, but prior to, or immediately after,launch or becoming airborne. For instance, the autonomous drone may runvarious self or system checks after power up; verify the virtual map ofthe home is current or up-to-date, or otherwise a recent version; and/oridentify an any obstacles within visual range (such as by analyzingimage data using object recognition techniques). After the initialchecks are satisfied, a drone charging station may unlatch, deploy, orotherwise release the drone from a charging or resting position.

The method 800 may include the autonomous drone traveling or flying 808about the interior of the home using the virtual map (for an aerialdrone). A land-based rover or drone may move about the floor of the homeusing the virtual map. In at least some embodiments, the drone maytravel to a location within the home that is associated with the triggerevent. The autonomous drone may identify obstacles (such as chairs,furniture, light fixtures, etc.) using object recognition techniquesfrom image data gather via a drone-mounted camera, for instance. If anobstacle is blocking the drone's path, the drone may automaticallyadjust its travel or navigation path to avoid the obstacle. Theautonomous drone may collect sensor data as it flies or otherwise movesabout the home, such as data from cameras, radar units, audio recorders,infrared sensors, 3D imaging sensors, heat sensors, or other sensorsmounted on the autonomous drone. The drone may analyze the sensor dataor transmit the sensor data to another computing device for analysis toidentify any abnormal conditions or other information associated withthe coverage area.

The map itself may include dimensions of rooms and ceiling height. Theautonomous drone may determine its position within each room usingranging techniques, such as using radar or 3D imaging to determine adistance to the floor, ceiling, and/or each wall. The autonomous drone(if an aerial drone) may fly by keeping a safe distance from each wallor the ceiling, such as by maintaining 12-18 inch safety distance toavoid collision. The autonomous drone (either an aerial or land-basedbased drone or robot) may also navigate or maintain its known positionwithin a home using dead reckoning (DR) techniques, or being in wirelesscommunication with home-mounted sensors that are located in known roomsor at known coordinates. The autonomous drone may also navigate and/ormaintain its position in relation to the virtual map using triangulationtechniques with home-mounted sensors that are within wirelesscommunication range.

The method 800 may include performing 810 one or more pre-event actions.For instance, autonomous drone may analyze the sensor data collected(before an event) remotely, or alternatively, the autonomous dronesensor data may be transmitted to a smart home controller or a remoteserver, and then analyzed remotely. As used herein, an “event” mayinclude abnormal conditions and/or damage or theft resulting from theabnormal conditions. The drone sensor data may be analyzed to identifyhome features or characteristics (“coverage area characteristics”)—suchas size of rooms; number of rooms or baths; type of counter tops,cabinetry, flooring, roofing, siding, lighting, fire place, etc. Thedrone sensor data may be analyzed to identify personal articles orbelongings, and calculate an actual value amount or other value amountof each personal articles. Virtual inventory lists of the homecharacteristics and/or the personal articles may be built and/orupdated. For instance, the drone sensor data may be input to a machinelearning program that is trained using sample data to (i) identify homecharacteristics and personal articles (such as by using objectrecognition or pattern recognition techniques on image data acquired bya camera mounted on the autonomous drone), and/or (ii) calculate anactual value amount or replacement cost for each home feature orpersonal article. The inventory lists may be stored by the drone and/oranother computing device in communication with the drone (e.g., thedocking station or home controller).

In the exemplary embodiment, the drone may be configured to collectsensor data including image or video data and identify the homecharacteristics and personal articles from the sensor data. Each entrywithin the inventory list may include a list identifier and image (orvideo) data of the respective home characteristic or personal article.In some embodiments, the drone may have access to a master inventorylist or an image recognition application to identify the characteristicsor articles. For example, the drone may compare the collected image datato image data from the master inventory list to determine what thecollected image data represents. The list identifier may be used toidentify the characteristic or article during subsequent access of theinventory list. For example, for a television, the list identifier mayindicate that the article is a television and a brand or model of thetelevision. In some embodiments, the drone may retrieve a value amountassociated with the characteristic or article based upon the listidentifier. In addition to identifying the home characteristics andpersonal articles, the drone may store a position or location of eachentry within the inventory list to facilitate detecting theft or damageafter an event. The virtual map may be updated with the positions of theentries in the inventory list.

The pre-event actions may also include generating 812 a homeowners,renters, or personal articles insurance quote. The quote for insurancemay be based in part on the home features and/or personal articlesidentified, and/or their calculated actual value amount or replacementcost.

The method 800 may include performing one or more post-event actions.For instance, the autonomous drone may be configured to capture claimdata after or during an event using the sensor and analyze the capturedclaim data remotely, or alternatively, the claim data may be transmittedto a smart home controller or a remote server, and then analyzedremotely. The claim data may be analyzed to identify or estimate damage,theft, and/or repair or replacement costs for damaged or stolen homecharacteristics and/or personal articles. For instance, the claim datamay be input to a machine learning program that is trained using sampledata to (i) estimate damage to home characteristic and personal articles(such as by using object recognition or pattern recognition techniqueson image data acquired by a camera mounted on the autonomous drone),and/or (ii) calculate a repair or replacement cost for each homecharacteristic or personal article. The pre-event and post-event actionsset forth above may be collectively referred to as “insurance events”.

In the exemplary embodiment, the drone may retrieve the stored inventorylist and compare the inventory list to the claim data to identify damageand/or theft. The inventory list may be updated indicate a status of thecharacteristic or article, such as “damaged”, “stolen”,“damaged—repairable”, and/or “damaged—unrepairable”. In someembodiments, the drone may retrieve the calculated value amount orrepair cost associated with a characteristic or article from theinventory list to calculate a repair or damage cost from the claim data.In certain embodiments, the drone may transmit the captured claim datato an insurance computing device for analysis.

The post-event actions may also include generating 816 a proposedinsurance claim related to homeowners, renters, or personal articlesinsurance associated with the coverage area. The proposed insuranceclaim may be based in part on the home characteristics and/or personalarticles identified as being damaged, and/or their estimated repair orreplacement cost.

The method 800 may include directing 818 the autonomous drone back to adrone charging station. The autonomous drone may automatically dock withthe drone charging station. The drone charging station may thenwirelessly recharge one or more batteries mounted on the autonomousdrone to facilitate further autonomous drone actions. The method 800 mayinclude additional, less, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein, and may be implemented via one or more localor remote processors, transceivers, and/or sensors. Although the droneperforms the actions of method 800, it is to be understood that thedrone charging station, the home controller, and/or the insurancecomputing device may be configured to perform at least a portion ofmethod 800.

Exemplary Autonomous Drone Periodic Deployment

FIG. 9 is an exemplary computer-implemented method 900 of employingautonomous drones to collect sensor data, analyze the sensor data todetect abnormal conditions, and, in response, direct mitigating actions.The method 900 may be implemented by system 100 (shown in FIG. 1). Themethod 900 may include generating or building 902 a virtual map of theinterior of a home, and uploading the virtual map to memory unitmounted-on the autonomous drone.

The method 900 may include detecting 904 that a home is unoccupied. Forinstance, home-mounted sensors may determine that a home is unoccupiedby lack of infrared heat signatures, or lack of motion detected bymotion sensors. Mobile device or vehicle GPS location may be used todetermine that an insured has left the house. Also, door locks andsensors, or garage door sensors may be used to determine when occupantshave left home. If is determined that the home is unoccupied, a smarthome controller or drone control center may push a notification to auser's mobile device asking if they would like for the autonomous droneto periodically deploy and check the home for abnormal conditions. Auser may direct the autonomous drone to periodically deploy (e.g.,deploy once every few hours) by pressing an icon on their mobile device.

The method 900 may include the autonomous drone periodically deploying906. For instance, every couple of hours the autonomous drone may powerup, perform several self-checks to verify proper operation, verify thatthe virtual map of the house is up-to-date or a current version, and/oridentify any obstacles within view.

The method 900 may include the autonomous drone traveling 908 about thehome using one or more routes. The autonomous drone may fly if an aerialdrone, or may move about the floor if the drone is a rover. The routesmay be determined using the virtual map, and may be selected to avoidany known obstacles (e.g., stairs, lights, furniture). The autonomousdrone may also collect and analyze sensor data as it moves about thehome to detect obstacles in real-time.

The method 900 may include analyzing 910 the drone sensor data collectedto detect and characterize abnormal conditions or insurance-relatedevents. For instance, image, infrared, or radar data may be collectedand analyzed to identify unexpected smoke, water, leakage, fires, openwindows or doors, etc.

The method 900 may include determining or directing 912 a correctiveaction to mitigate damage to the house and/or personal belongingstherein. For instance, a processor or controller mounted on theautonomous drone, or home controller or remote processor in wirelesscommunication with the autonomous drone may identify a type of event ordamage caused by the event (such as a water or leakage event). The localor remote processor may determine that a water main or electronicallycontrolled water inlet valve should be closed to isolate or stop thewater damage. The processor may remotely direct the valve to shut,mitigating further water damage. As another example, the local or remoteprocessor may direct that a sprinkler system operate after smoke or fireis detected.

The method 900 may include generating and transmitting 914 an electronicnotification of abnormal condition. For instance, the autonomous dronemay generate and transmit a message to the user's mobile device or to athird party's remote server (e.g., police department, fire department,or home security company). The autonomous drone may generate messagespresenting recommended actions (e.g., shut off power to home, shut watervalve, etc.), and asking whether the user would like those actions to beautomatically performed or not.

The method 900 may include automatically docking 916 the autonomousdrone with the drone charging station to recharge the battery. Theautonomous drone's battery or batteries may be wirelessly charged fromthe drone charging station for the next drone deployment. The method mayinclude additional, less, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

Exemplary Integration of Autonomous Drone into Home Security System

FIG. 10 is an exemplary computer-implemented method 1000 of integratingan autonomous drone into a home monitoring/security system, and thenemploying the autonomous drone to monitor the home by collecting sensordata, analyzing the sensor data to detect abnormal conditions, anddirecting mitigating actions. The method 1000 may be implemented bysystem 100 (shown in FIG. 1). The method 1000 may include integrating orlinking 1002 an autonomous drone into a home security system. Forinstance, the autonomous drone may be linked a processor associated witha home security system, or a “smart home” or interconnected homecontroller. The linking may be via wireless communication or datatransmission over a radio frequency link or via a wireless communicationchannel to allow two-way data transmission.

The method 1000 may include using 1004 initial drone sensor data tobuild a virtual navigation map of the interior and/or exterior of thehome. For instance, the initial time that the autonomous drone flies orotherwise moves about the home, sensor data may be collected inreal-time. The drone sensor data may be used for obstacle avoidance, andthen saved and later used to generate an electronic or virtual map ofthe home. For instance, the autonomous drone may input the sensor datacollected in real-time into a machine learning program that identifiesobstacles, moves the autonomous drone to avoid the obstacles, and mapsthe layout of a home. The autonomous drone sensor data may include 3Ddata, image or video data, radar or LIDAR information, infrared data,etc. Additionally or alternatively, an electronic map of the home may beuploaded to the autonomous drone memory, such as transmitted from thehome security system or from a smart home controller. For example, thedrone may receive initial sensor data from the controller that wascollected by security sensors in communication with the controller.

The method 1000 may include detecting 1006 that the home is unoccupiedor another event via home-mounted or mobile device-mounted securitysensors. The home may be determined to be unoccupied from securitysensor data collected by the security sensors. The security sensors maybe positioned around the home and/or may be integrated within the home.In at least some embodiments, the security sensors may be configured tocollect security sensor data to detect an infrared signature of theinterior of the home, the opening and closing of a door or garage door,and/or a vehicle or mobile device has left the premises (such as bymonitoring vehicle or mobile device GPS unit coordinates) and todetermine that the home or coverage area is unoccupied. The collectedsecurity sensor data may be transmitted to the drone and/or thecontroller for analysis.

Additionally or alternatively, the security sensors may detect events orabnormal conditions. For instance, water, smoke, or fire securitysensors may indicate an abnormal water leakage, such as pipe leakage, orabnormal smoke or fire, such as from a fireplace or an oven or stove.Additionally or alternatively, the method 1000 may otherwise receive acommand (i.e., a deployment signal) sent from a customer's mobiledevice, e.g., smart phone, smart watch, or tablet, instructing theautonomous drone to launch, and/or automatically and periodically deployand collect drone sensor data, or otherwise monitor the home.

The method 1000 may include periodically deploying 1008 the autonomousdrone from a docking and charging station. For instance, once it isdetermined that the home is unoccupied, the drone may be periodicallydeployed after a predetermined period of time, such as every few hours.Additionally or alternatively, if an event or abnormal conditions hasbeen indicated by various home-mounted security sensors, the autonomousdrone may be directed to the area of concern or zone of the home inwhich the abnormal event has been detected. The autonomous drone maythen collect drone sensor data and confirm whether or not an abnormalcondition exists, and the extent thereof.

Immediately before or after launch, the autonomous drone may perform anumber of safety checks. For example, the drone may verify that it isfunctioning as expected or normally, that the version of the map of thehome is recent, and/or identify any unexpected obstacles in its flightpath (furniture, etc.) that are in view.

The method 1000 may include directing 1010 the autonomous drone to move(e.g., roll or fly) about the house. The autonomous drone may directitself using the virtual map of the interior and/or exterior of thehome. Additionally or alternatively, the autonomous drone may beconfigured to move about on its own without a stored navigation map. Forinstance, the autonomous drone may collect image data or other sensordata, and feed the image or other sensor data into a machine learningprogram that is trained to use the image and/or sensor data to generatea flight path in real-time that avoids obstacles. After which, theautonomous drone may be directed about the home using the flight pathgenerated by the machine learning program. Alternatively, the drone maybe configured to manual navigation. For example, a homeowner may controlthe drone's movement using the homeowner's mobile device to transmitnavigation commands to the drone.

The method 1000 may include analyzing 1012 the autonomous drone sensordata to detect or characterize abnormal conditions or insurance-relatedevents. If home-mounted security sensors detected an event thattriggered the autonomous drone being launched, the autonomous dronesensor data may be used to verify the event and determine the extentthereof. If the autonomous drone is being deployed periodically becausethe home is unoccupied, the autonomous drone sensor data may be analyzedto determine an event, type of the event, and/or size or severity of theevent. The autonomous drone sensor data may be analyzed by a processormounted on the drone itself, or transmitted via a wireless communicationchannel, to a processor associated with the home security system or aremote server. The autonomous drone sensor data may be input in amachine learning program that is trained to detect or characterizeabnormal conditions or insurance-related events (e.g., water leaks,break-ins, fires, etc.) from autonomous drone sensor data.

The method 1000 may include determining and directing 1014 a correctiveaction that mitigates damage to the home and personal belongingstherein. For instance, autonomous drone or the controller of the homesecurity system may direct that a sprinkler system turn on, or that astove or oven is de-energized, if the event is unexpected smoke or fire.The autonomous drone or the controller may direct that an electronicallyand remotely controlled water supply valve (such as a supply valve topipes or a dish or clothes washing machine determined to be leaking) byclosed if the event is unexpected water detected. The autonomous droneor home security system may contact a home security company or police ifthe event is a home break-in. In some embodiments, the drone may includea response device configured to perform a corrective action. For examplethe drone may include a fire extinguisher and, in the event of a fire,the drone may be configured to use the fire extinguisher to put out thefire.

The method 1000 may include generating and transmitting 1016 anotification of the event or abnormal condition. For instance, theautonomous drone or the controller may generate an electronic messagedetailing the event and transmit the electronic message to thecustomer's mobile device over a wireless communication channel. Theautonomous drone or home security system (or smart home controller) maystream video of the event to the customer's mobile device as well.

The method 1000 may include the autonomous drone automatically docking1018 with the drone charging station to recharge its battery for futuredeployments about the home. The drone charging station may wirelesslyrecharge the battery—making it easier for the autonomous drone to dockand deploy from the charging station.

The method 1000 may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein. The method 1000 may beimplemented via one or more local or more drone-mounted, home-mounted,and/or mobile device-mounted processors, transceivers, or sensors,and/or via computer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

Exemplary Home Monitoring

In one aspect, a computer system configured for home security may beprovided. The computer system may include one or more processors,transceivers, or sensors configured to: (1) analyze home-mounted sensordata, and/or mobile device sensor data, to determine or detect that ahome is unoccupied; (2) direct an autonomous drone to periodicallydeploy or launch from a drone charging station (that wirelesslyrecharges a drone-mounted battery), and travel about the home using oneor more pre-determined routes, or a real-time obstacle avoidancetechnique (that detects obstacles and automatically routes theautonomous drone around the obstacles, such as by maintain a certaindistance between the autonomous drone and the obstacles); (3) receiveautonomous drone sensor data collected by one or more sensors mounted onthe autonomous drone during a deployment; (4) analyze the autonomousdrone sensor data to determine or identify an abnormal condition withinthe home; (5) classify or characterize the abnormal condition (such asinputting the autonomous drone sensor data into a machine learningprogram that is trained to identify, classify, and/or characterize theabnormal condition from processor analysis of the autonomous dronesensor data); and/or (6) determine or direct a corrective or mitigatingaction based upon the classification or characterization of the abnormalcondition to facilitate preventing or mitigating damage to the homeand/or personal articles within the home. The computer system mayinclude additional, less, or alternate functionality, including thatdiscussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the abnormal condition identified may be associated with abreak-in, and the corrective action may be contacting a third partysecurity service. The abnormal condition identified may be associatedwith a water leakage or a water-related event, and the corrective actionmay be shutting an electronically controllable water supply valve. Theabnormal condition identified may be associated with fire or smoke, andthe corrective action may be contacting a third party security service.The corrective action may be generating an electronic message, andtransmitting the electronic message to a customer mobile device via awireless communication channel.

The autonomous drone may be an unmanned aerial vehicle or system.Additionally or alternatively, the autonomous drone may be a land-basedrover or wheeled device. The corrective action may include theautonomous drone dropping chemical agents onto a fire that extinguishthe fire.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing homesecurity and/or monitoring may be provided. The method may include (1)receiving and/or analyze, via one or more processors and/ortransceivers, home-mounted sensor data, and/or mobile device sensordata, to determine or detect that a home is unoccupied; (2) directing,via the one or more processors, an autonomous drone to periodicallydeploy or launch from a drone charging station, and travel about thehome using one or more pre-determined routes, or an obstacle avoidancetechnique; (3) receiving, via the one or more processors and/ortransceivers, autonomous drone sensor data collected by one or moresensors mounted on the autonomous drone during a deployment; (4)analyzing, via the one or more processors, the autonomous drone sensordata to determine or identify an abnormal condition within the home; (5)classifying or characterizing, via the one or more processors, theabnormal condition; and/or (6) determining or directing, via the one ormore processors and/or transceivers, a corrective or mitigating actionbased upon the classification or characterization of the abnormalcondition to facilitate preventing or mitigating damage to the home orpersonal articles within the home.

The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein. The method may be implemented via oneor more local or more drone-mounted, home-mounted, and/or mobiledevice-mounted processors, transceivers, or sensors, and/or viacomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

Exemplary Home Inventory

In one aspect, a computer system in communication with, or including, anautonomous drone and configured to build or update virtual inventoriesmay be provided. The computer system may include one or more processors,transceivers, or sensors configured to: (1) direct an autonomous droneto deploy or launch from a drone charging station, and travel about thehome using one or more pre-determined routes, or real-time obstacleavoidance techniques (such as by inputting image or other sensor datacollected by one or more autonomous drone-mounted cameras or sensorsinto a machine learning program in real-time, the machine learningprogram trained to identify obstacles and/or determine flight pathswithin a home from processor analysis of the autonomous drone-mountedcamera or sensor data); (2) receive autonomous drone sensor datacollected by one or more sensors mounted on the autonomous drone duringthe deployment via a wireless communication channel or over one or moreradio links; (3) analyze the autonomous drone sensor data to determineor identify one or more features or characteristics of the home, and/orone or more personal articles (such as by inputting the autonomous dronesensor data into a machine learning program trained to identify homefeatures or personal articles from processor analysis of the autonomousdrone sensor data); (4) build or update a virtual inventory of the oneor more features or characteristics of the home, and/or one or morepersonal articles; (5) estimate an actual or other value of the one orone or more features or characteristics of the home, and/or one or morepersonal articles (such as the machine learning program further beingtrained to estimate a value of home features or personal articles fromprocessor analysis of the autonomous drone sensor data); (6) generate aninsurance quote for homeowners or personal articles insurance based uponthe virtual inventory or estimated values of the one or more features orcharacteristics of the home, and/or one or more personal articles,respectively; and/or (7) transmit the insurance quote over a wirelesscommunication channel or radio link to a mobile device of a customer fortheir review to facilitate providing insurance coverage to customers.The computer system may include additional, less, or alternatefunctionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the home features may include type of flooring, cabinetry,or counter tops; the home features may include type, age, make, or modelof appliances, such as washer and dryer, dishwasher, oven, stove,refrigerator, sump pump, and/or water heater; the home features mayinclude type of fireplace; the home features may include number ofrooms, size of rooms, and number of floors; and/or the home features mayinclude type of windows and doors. The personal articles may includefurniture and electronics, jewelry, and/or antiques.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using an autonomousdrone to build or update virtual inventories of home features and/orpersonal articles may be provided. The method may include (1) directing,via one or more processors or transceivers, an autonomous drone todeploy or launch from a drone charging station, and travel about thehome using one or more pre-determined routes, or real-time obstacleavoidance techniques; (2) receiving, via the one or more processors ortransceivers, autonomous drone sensor data collected by one or moresensors mounted on the autonomous drone during the deployment via awireless communication channel or over one or more radio links; (3)analyzing, via the one or more processors, the autonomous drone sensordata to determine or identify one or more features or characteristics ofthe home, and/or one or more personal articles; (4) building orupdating, via the one or more processors, a virtual inventory of the oneor more features or characteristics of the home, and/or one or morepersonal articles; (5) estimating, via the one or more processors, anactual or other value of the one or one or more features orcharacteristics of the home, and/or one or more personal articles; (6)generating, via the one or more processors, an insurance quote forhomeowners or personal articles insurance based upon the virtualinventory or estimated values of the one or more features orcharacteristics of the home, and/or one or more personal articles,respectively; and/or (7) transmitting, via the one or more processorsand/or transceivers, the insurance quote over a wireless communicationchannel or radio link to a mobile device of a customer for their reviewto facilitate providing insurance coverage to customers.

The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein. The method may be implemented via oneor more local or more drone-mounted, home-mounted, and/or mobiledevice-mounted processors, transceivers, or sensors, and/or viacomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

Exemplary Repair or Replacement Cost Estimation

In one aspect, a computer system in communication with, or including, anautonomous drone and configured to estimate damage to building orpersonal articles may be provided. The computer system may include oneor more processors, transceivers, or sensors configured to: (1) detect atrigger event from analysis of home-mounted sensor data; (2) direct anautonomous drone to deploy or launch from a drone charging station, andtravel about the home using one or more pre-determined routes (such as apredetermined route to a zone of the home associated with the triggerevent), or a real-time obstacle avoidance technique; (3) receiveautonomous drone sensor data collected by one or more sensors mounted onthe autonomous drone during the deployment via a wireless communicationchannel or over one or more radio links; (4) analyze the autonomousdrone sensor data to determine or identify one or more areas of the homethat include (i) damage to one or more features of the home, and/or (ii)damage to one or more personal articles (such as by inputting theautonomous drone sensor data into a machine learning program that istrained to identify damaged home features or personal articles, and/orestimate a repair or replacement cost from processor analysis of theautonomous drone sensor data); (5) estimate a repair or replacement costfor the one or one or more features of the home, and/or one or morepersonal articles that were damaged; (6) generate a proposed insuranceclaim associated with homeowners or personal articles insurance basedupon the estimated repair or replacement cost of the one or morefeatures of the home, and/or the one or more personal articles,respectively; and/or (7) transmit the proposed insurance claim over awireless communication channel or radio link to a mobile device of acustomer for their review and/or approval to facilitate prompt handlingof insurance claims and providing enhanced customer service tocustomers. The computer system may include additional, less, oralternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the home features may include type of flooring, cabinetry,or counter tops; the home features may include type, age, make, or modelof appliances, such as washer and dryer, dishwasher, oven, stove,refrigerator, sump pump, and/or water heater; the home features mayinclude type of fireplace; the home features may include number ofrooms, size of rooms, and number of floors; and/or the home features mayinclude type of windows and doors. The personal articles may includefurniture and electronics, and/or paintings or antiques.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using an autonomousdrone to estimate damage to building or personal articles after an eventmay be provided. The method may include (1) detecting, via one or moreprocessors, transceivers, or sensors, a trigger event from analysis ofhome-mounted sensor data; (2) directing, via the one or more processors,an autonomous drone to deploy or launch from a drone charging station,and travel about the home using one or more pre-determined routes, or areal-time obstacle avoidance technique; (3) receiving, via the one ormore processors or transceivers, autonomous drone sensor data collectedby one or more sensors mounted on the autonomous drone during thedeployment via a wireless communication channel or over one or moreradio links; (4) analyzing, via the one or more processors, theautonomous drone sensor data to determine or identify one or more areasof the home that include (i) damage to one or more features of the home,and/or (ii) damage to one or more personal articles; (5) estimating, viathe one or more processors, a repair or replacement cost for the one orone or more features of the home, and/or one or more personal articlesthat were damaged; (6) generating, via the one or more processors, aproposed insurance claim associated with homeowners or personal articlesinsurance based upon the estimated repair or replacement cost of the oneor more features of the home, and/or the one or more personal articles,respectively; and/or (7) transmitting, via the one or more processorsand/or transceivers, the proposed insurance claim over a wirelesscommunication channel or radio link to a mobile device of a customer fortheir review and/or approval to facilitate prompt handling of insuranceclaims and providing enhanced customer service to customers.

The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein. The method may be implemented via oneor more local or more drone-mounted, home-mounted, and/or mobiledevice-mounted processors, transceivers, or sensors, and/or viacomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

Exemplary Drone Integration with Home Security System

In one aspect, a computer system configured for home security ormonitoring may be provided. The computer system may include one or moreprocessors, transceivers, or sensors configured to: (1) wirelesslyintegrate an autonomous drone into the computer system; (2) direct tothe autonomous drone to collect autonomous drone-mounted sensor data;(3) use the autonomous drone-mounted sensor data collected to build orupdate a virtual map of an interior of a home; (4) analyze home-mountedsensor data, and/or mobile device sensor data, to determine or detectthat a home is unoccupied; (5) direct the autonomous drone toperiodically deploy or launch from a drone charging station, and travelabout the home using one or more pre-determined routes outlined withrespect to the virtual map of the interior of the home, or a real-timeobstacle avoidance technique (such as by collecting autonomousdrone-mounted image or other sensor data, and inputting that image orother sensor data into a machine learning program that is trained todetect obstacles and automatically route the autonomous drone around theobstacles based upon the image and/or other sensor data collected—suchas by maintaining a certain distance (e.g., 12 inches) between theautonomous drone and the obstacles identified from processor analysis ofthe drone sensor data); (6) receive autonomous drone sensor datacollected by one or more sensors mounted on the autonomous drone duringa deployment; (7) analyze the autonomous drone sensor data to determineor identify an abnormal condition within the home (such as by inputtingthe autonomous drone sensor data into a machine learning program trainedto identify abnormal conditions, and type and extent thereof, from theautonomous drone sensor data); (8) classify or characterize the abnormalcondition (such as by inputting the autonomous drone sensor data intothe machine learning program, which is also trained to classify orcharacterize the abnormal condition (e.g., water, security, or fireevent) from the autonomous drone sensor data); and/or (9) determine ordirect a corrective or mitigating action based upon the classificationor characterization of the abnormal condition to facilitate preventingor mitigating damage to the home or personal articles within the home.The computer system may include additional, less, or alternatefunctionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the abnormal condition identified may be associated with abreak-in, and the corrective action may be contacting a third partysecurity service. The abnormal condition identified may be associatedwith a water leakage or a water-related event, and the corrective actionmay be shutting an electronically controllable water supply valve. Theabnormal condition identified may be associated with fire or smoke, andthe corrective action may be contacting a third party security service.The corrective action may be generating an electronic message, andtransmitting the electronic message to a customer mobile device via awireless communication channel.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for providing homesecurity or monitoring may be provided. The method may include, via oneor more processors, transceivers, or sensors: (1) wirelessly integratingan autonomous drone into a home security system; (2) directing theautonomous drone to collect autonomous drone-mounted sensor data; (3)using the autonomous drone-mounted sensor data collected to build orupdate a virtual map of an interior of a home; (4) analyzinghome-mounted sensor data, or mobile device sensor data, to determine ordetect that a home is unoccupied; (5) directing the autonomous drone toperiodically deploy or launch from a drone charging station, and travelabout the home using (i) one or more pre-determined routes outlined withrespect to the virtual map of the interior of the home, or (ii) areal-time obstacle avoidance technique (such as by collecting autonomousdrone-mounted image or other sensor data, and inputting that image orother sensor data into a machine learning program that is trained todetect obstacles and automatically route the autonomous drone around theobstacles based upon the image and/or other sensor data collected—suchas by maintaining a certain distance between the autonomous drone andthe obstacles identified from processor analysis of the drone sensordata); (6) receiving autonomous drone sensor data collected by one ormore sensors mounted on the autonomous drone during a deployment; (7)analyzing the autonomous drone sensor data to determine or identify anabnormal condition within the home (such as by inputting the autonomousdrone sensor data into a machine learning program trained to identifyabnormal conditions, and type and extent thereof, from the autonomousdrone sensor data); (8) classifying or characterizing the abnormalcondition (such as by inputting the autonomous drone sensor data intothe machine learning program, which is also trained to classify orcharacterize the abnormal condition (e.g., water, security, or fireevent) from the autonomous drone sensor data); and/or (9) determining ordirecting a corrective or mitigating action based upon theclassification or characterization of the abnormal condition tofacilitate preventing or mitigating damage to the home or personalarticles within the home.

The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein. The method may be implemented via oneor more local or more drone-mounted, home-mounted, and/or mobiledevice-mounted processors, transceivers, or sensors, and/or viacomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

Additional Considerations

With the foregoing, an insurance customer may opt-in to a rewards,insurance discount, or other type of program. After the insurancecustomer provides their permission or affirmative consent, an insuranceprovider remote server may collect drone and/or smart home sensor data(including image or audio data) associated with insured assets,including before, during, and/or after an insurance-related event. Inreturn, risk averse insureds and home owners may receive discounts orinsurance cost savings related to auto, home, life, and other types ofinsurance from the insurance provider.

In one aspect, drone and smart home sensor data, and/or other data,including the types of data discussed elsewhere herein, may be collectedor received by an insured's mobile device or drone, or an App runningthereon, and/or an insurance provider remote server, such as via director indirect wireless communication or data transmission from anapplication running on the insured's mobile device, drone, or smart homecontroller, after the insured or customer affirmatively consents orotherwise opts-in to an insurance discount, reward, or other program.The insurance provider may then analyze the data received with thecustomer's permission to provide benefits to the customer. As a result,risk averse customers may receive insurance discounts or other insurancecost savings based upon data that reflects low risk behavior and/ortechnology that mitigates or prevents risk to (i) insured assets, suchas homes, vehicles or personal articles, and/or (ii) family members.

As will be appreciated based upon the foregoing specification, theabove-described embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented usingcomputer programming or engineering techniques including computersoftware, firmware, hardware or any combination or subset thereof. Anysuch resulting program, having computer-readable code means, may beembodied or provided within one or more computer-readable media, therebymaking a computer program product, i.e., an article of manufacture,according to the discussed embodiments of the disclosure. Thecomputer-readable media may be, for example, but is not limited to, afixed (hard) drive, diskette, optical disk, magnetic tape, semiconductormemory such as read-only memory (ROM), and/or any transmitting/receivingmedium such as the Internet or other communication network or link. Thearticle of manufacture containing the computer code may be made and/orused by executing the code directly from one medium, by copying the codefrom one medium to another medium, or by transmitting the code over anetwork.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications, “apps”, or code) include machine instructions for aprogrammable processor, and can be implemented in a high-levelprocedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or inassembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms “machine-readablemedium” “computer-readable medium” refers to any computer programproduct, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks,memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machineinstructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including amachine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as amachine-readable signal. The “machine-readable medium” and“computer-readable medium,” however, do not include transitory signals.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

As used herein, a processor may include any programmable systemincluding systems using micro-controllers, reduced instruction setcircuits (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logiccircuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing thefunctions described herein. The above examples are example only, and arethus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning ofthe term “processor.”

As used herein, the terms “software” and “firmware” are interchangeable,and include any computer program stored in memory for execution by aprocessor, including RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROMmemory, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory. The above memory types areexample only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memory usablefor storage of a computer program.

In one embodiment, a computer program is provided, and the program isembodied on a computer readable medium. In an example embodiment, thesystem is executed on a single computer system, without requiring aconnection to a sever computer. In a further embodiment, the system isbeing run in a Windows® environment (Windows is a registered trademarkof Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.). In yet another embodiment,the system is run on a mainframe environment and a UNIX® serverenvironment (UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limitedlocated in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom). The application isflexible and designed to run in various different environments withoutcompromising any major functionality. In some embodiments, the systemincludes multiple components distributed among a plurality of computingdevices. One or more components may be in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium.The systems and processes are not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein. In addition, components of each system and eachprocess can be practiced independent and separate from other componentsand processes described herein. Each component and process can also beused in combination with other assembly packages and processes.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and precededby the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralelements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited.Furthermore, references to “example embodiment” or “one embodiment” ofthe present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excludingthe existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate therecited features.

The patent claims at the end of this document are not intended to beconstrued under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditionalmeans-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as “means for”or “step for” language being expressly recited in the claim(s).

This written description uses examples to disclose the disclosure,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devicesor systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scopeof the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include otherexamples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples areintended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structuralelements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, orif they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantialdifferences from the literal languages of the claims.

I claim:
 1. A response system comprising: a security system comprising asecurity sensor and a security controller, the security systemassociated with a coverage area; and an autonomous drone, the dronecomprising a processor, a memory in communication with the processor,and at least one drone sensor, wherein the processor is programmed to:link the drone to the security controller; determine that the coveragearea is unoccupied; deploy the drone from a docking station; controlmovement of the drone within the coverage area; collect drone sensordata of the coverage area using the at least one drone sensor; analyzethe collected drone sensor data to identify an abnormal condition withinthe coverage area, the abnormal condition including at least one of (i)damage occurring within the coverage area, and (ii) theft occurringwithin the coverage area; and calculate a repair cost of the abnormalcondition by comparing the analyzed drone sensor data to an inventorylist stored in the memory, wherein the inventory list includes dataassociated with at least one of a personal article and a homecharacteristic of the coverage area.
 2. The response system inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the coverage area includes an interiorof a building.
 3. The response system in accordance with claim 1,wherein the processor is further programmed to: build a virtualnavigation map of the coverage area based, at least in part, uponinitial sensor data stored by the drone; and control movement of thedrone within the coverage area based upon the virtual navigation map. 4.The response system in accordance with claim 3, wherein the processor isfurther programmed to: deploy the drone to navigate within the coveragearea; collect the initial sensor data using the at least one dronesensor; and store the initial sensor data within the memory to build thevirtual navigation map.
 5. The response system in accordance with claim1, wherein the processor is further programmed to receive securitysensor data from the security sensor, the security sensor dataindicating the coverage area is unoccupied.
 6. The response system inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed todeploy the drone from the docking station after a predetermined periodof time.
 7. The response system in accordance with claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further programmed to trigger an insurance event associatedwith the coverage area based on the analyzed drone sensor data, whereinthe insurance event includes at least one of generating an insuranceclaim and calculating an insurance estimate.
 8. The response system inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:determine a corrective action that mitigates damage from the abnormalcondition; and prompt the corrective action to be performed.
 9. Theresponse system in accordance with claim 8, wherein the processor isfurther programmed to transmit a command to the security controller toperform the corrective action, wherein security controller causes thesecurity system to perform the corrective action in response to thecommand.
 10. The response system in accordance with claim 8, wherein theprocessor is further programmed to cause the drone to perform thecorrective action using a response device, the response devicecomprising at least one of a flashlight, a speaker, an alarm, a fireextinguisher, a chemical device, and a tagging device.
 11. The responsesystem in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherprogrammed to transmit a notification indicating the abnormal conditionoccurred to a user device associated with the coverage area.
 12. Theresponse system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the processor isfurther programmed to automatically navigate the drone to the dockingstation after collecting the sensor data.
 13. A computer-implementedmethod for analyzing sensor data of a coverage area using a responsesystem, the response system including an autonomous drone and a securitysystem including a security controller, said method comprising: linkingthe drone to the security controller; determining that a coverage areaassociated with the security system is unoccupied; deploying the dronefrom a docking station; navigating, by the drone, through the coveragearea; collecting, by the drone, drone sensor data of the coverage areausing at least one drone sensor; analyzing the collected drone sensordata to identify an abnormal condition within the coverage area, theabnormal condition including at least one of (i) damage occurring withinthe coverage area, and (ii) theft occurring within the coverage area;and calculating a repair cost of the abnormal condition by comparing theanalyzed drone sensor data to an inventory list stored in a memory ofthe drone, wherein the inventory list includes data associated with atleast one of a personal article and a home characteristic of thecoverage area.
 14. The computer-implemented method in accordance withclaim 13, wherein the coverage area includes an interior of a building.15. The computer-implemented method in accordance with claim 13, whereinnavigating through the coverage area further comprises: building avirtual navigation map of the coverage area based, at least in part,upon initial sensor data stored by the drone; and navigating, by thedrone, through the coverage area based upon the virtual navigation map.16. The computer-implemented method in accordance with claim 15, whereinbuilding the virtual navigation map further comprises: deploying thedrone to navigate within the coverage area; collecting the initialsensor data using the at least one drone sensor; and storing the initialsensor data by the drone to build the virtual navigation map.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method in accordance with claim 13, whereindetermining that the coverage area is unoccupied further comprisesreceiving security sensor data from a security sensor associated withthe security controller, wherein the security sensor data indicates thecoverage area is unoccupied.
 18. The computer-implemented method inaccordance with claim 13, wherein deploying the drone from the dockingstation further comprises deploying the drone after a predeterminedperiod of time.
 19. The computer-implemented method in accordance withclaim 13 further comprising triggering an insurance event associatedwith the coverage area based on the analyzed drone sensor data, whereinthe insurance event includes at least one of generating an insuranceclaim and calculating an insurance estimate.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method in accordance with claim 13 furthercomprising: determining a corrective action that mitigates damage fromthe abnormal condition; and prompting the corrective action to beperformed.